Electric accompanyment to folky/songwriter acoustic guitar

[coreybox]

Hey Guys,

I have the opportunity to play electric guitar with an acoustic band. Material is mostly folky/singer-songwriter material, and also some more country/alt-country influenced songs.

I'm looking for some CDs/youtube clips to reference. Any good example of this type of material? Any tips? This is a role I'm not use to.

While I do need some reference material on the stereotypical (in my mind at least) delay+arpeggio style, I'd like to stay away from that style as much as possible.

thanks!
Corey

[loudboy]

John Leventhal

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Steuert Smith

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Duke Levine

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[Prof.Fuzz]

You might want to check out Bo Ramsey backing up Greg Brown. Lots of good YouTube clips.

[Sweetfinger]

Chris Whitley's disc, "Big Sky Country" is a great example. Slide guitar is your friend:
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I love the way the slide just creates an atmosphere on this, like electric cicadas buzzing in the background:
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[coreybox]

thanks guys!

[PosterBoy]

Check out Mark Goldenberg, he plays with Jackson Browne and has very tasteful chops and tone

[atquinn]

Check out Freedy Johnston's album, "This Perfect World".
-
Austin

[bobcs71]

I've done this before & a lot can depend on the band. If you have drums & bass it can change what you play. I found slide work went well with acoustic/folk music. Also never be afraid to not play. Being sparse can be a good thing.
Some other references are John Prine (with a band)
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Kenny Vaughn (just 2 guitars)
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Ry Cooder (as mentioned) with John Hiatt
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[Seabazz]

maybe not folky but just two guitars

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[BedroomRockStar01]

Lucinda Williams band. All of her sidemen are great, especially Doug Pettibone. This sounds like it's in the ballpark of what you're looking for.

My personal favorite:

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[mcknigs]

Check out Freedy Johnston's album, "This Perfect World".
-
Austin

+1,000,000!

When I first got into accompanying an acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriter in a band context, my major inspiration was the lead guitar accompaniment on "This Perfect World" and "Can You Fly." Some arpeggios, but also spare rhythm, atmospherics and counter-melodies.

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-Scott

[atquinn]

+1,000,000!

When I first got into accompanying an acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriter in a band context, my major inspiration was the lead guitar accompaniment on "This Perfect World" and "Can You Fly." Some arpeggios, but also spare rhythm, atmospherics and counter-melodies.

-Scott

Kevin Salem played on those albums, but I don't know if he was doing all the electric stuff or not. His own music sounds so much rougher than Freedy's.
-
Austin

[vintage saddles]

Big fan of Freedy. No help to offer the OP, though.

[mcknigs]

Mark Spencer (Blood Oranges) was also involved.

[teleman55]

Not someone to listen to,
But for that gig, I'd take my favorite Tele, DR, tuner, drive pedal, compressor, chorus and delay. And use the pedals sparingly.

[mcknigs]

Also check out Colin Cripps' playing behind Kathleen Edwards.

[FirstBassman]

Electric accompanyment to folky/songwriter acoustic guitar



My preferred way of performing . . .


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[Beavan4441]

You might want to check out Bo Ramsey backing up Greg Brown. Lots of good YouTube clips.

Anybody got any photos of Bo's pedalboard? Love his tone. Really spooky. Would love to know what he's using for trem and delay.
Saw Lucinda with Doug Pettibone a while back. He was generall excellent, but agree that his fuzz stuff gets a little repetitive

[White Cluster]

I can't post any vids from work but check out Shawn Colvin.

[Jahn]

ditto on Shawn Colvin, especially if John Leventhal is doing the backing. and i always liked the tasteful electric backup to Sarah's stuff, which could do fine with just an acoustic, but lends well to the electric component:

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[williamsdbrian]

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[coreybox]

Thanks again guys!

[Griz]

Buddy Miller is a genius at applying electric guitar accompaniment to acoustic oriented singer/songwriter material. He always finds a way to lift the song to the next level, but he's never obtrusive with his playing.

You must check this guy out.

Backing Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, and Patty Griffin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVK1-0MHvM&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrueQpa_75w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcqoQJNcBec&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOn_nyzuYzQ&feature=related

Backing Robert Plant in Band of Joy (louder material, but you can still appreciate his sense of what to play):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF-sarKJGQg&feature=fvsr

The great Mark Knoplfler, gently backing Emylou:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G03Iw8qdBCk

Although noted for his wilder soundscaping and sometimes heavily processed leads, Nels Cline often uses volume swells and other subtleties to great effect in Wilco's songs. tracks like Side with the Seeds and Sky Blue Sky come to mind.

So many others too. Even though Larry Carlton may be best known as a jazz/fusion guitarist, his work with Joni Mitchell features many examples of how electric guitar can add beauty and dimension even to already brilliant singer/songwriter material that would still sound wonderful with just acoustic guitar.

Have fun with the project!

:aok

[Beavan4441]

You might want to check out Bo Ramsey backing up Greg Brown. Lots of good YouTube clips.

Hi, recently discovered Greg Brown while looking for more stuff with Bo Ramsey on as love tasteful way he plays behind a singer (First heard him on Jeff Foucault's Ghost Repeater album).
Does anyone have any of Brown's albums, and if so which are the best ones?

[bill austin]

If I Had Known is a good compilation cd, also The Live One is one of my favorites.

[oldtelefart]

Doing just that this evening, playing with a solo singer/acoustic act. Keep it simple, don't be afraid to leave spaces (it's the gaps what rocks, baby!) and keep your tone pretty clean. Don't get in the way.

[guitguy28]

That's exactly what I'm doing these days. Backing up a singer/songwriter-alt-country musician on electric.

I play a Strat through a Vox amp. I use either pristine clean or edge-of-overdrive tones mostly. I will stick to one effect in a specific song ie. tremolo or delay, as it defines the guitar part for that song. And if I use more distortion it really means something as opposed to playing in a rock band and always being distorted. Style-wise, all the previous video postings are great examples.

Playing in this style and genre actually led to my "discovery" of my Strat's middle pickup. It's not as twangy as the bridge, and not as boomy as the neck, but it can cover both sounds well, especially if you vary the distance you pick from the bridge. And as opposed to the middle position on a Tele (which I would use if I had a Tele), it's a straight pickup sound as opposed to a funky parallel-dual pickup sound.

[Prerequisite]

The Fleet Foxes are a good example.

[Cornbread]

love this thread

[mcknigs]

My preferred way of performing . . .


-GperI4F1iI

Bangkok Blues. R.I.P. :(

[Bryan T]

Another big thumbs-up for Buddy Miller's work with Emmylou Harris.